Paul Schmutzler

Pulling from my 15 years in the media production industry, I now write about the industry. You'll find my publications in Streaming Media Magazine, Streaming Media Producer, Post Magazine and Technology for Worship Magazine.

Several versions of UHD still compete in the marketplace, but if the specs are clear to producers and broadcasters, the jargon remains confusing for potential UHD TV buyers

April, 17 2016

streamingmedia.comArticle

Adobe Unveils New Social Publishing Panel for Adobe Media Encoder at Adobe MAX

Out of this year's Adobe MAX conference held in San Diego, Adobe has announced an upcoming private beta of the all-new Social Publishing panel being added into Premiere Pro

November, 2 2016

streamingmedia.comArticle

The State of Mobile Video 2017

Device innovation slows down ("phablets" are plenty big already), while network improvements forge ahead (5G is on the horizon, right? But where?).

June, 4 2018

streamingmedia.comArticle

How to Start and Finish Your Live Streams Right

While readers and contributors to Streaming Media magazine are all about “the business & technology of online video,” and we often cover the technical side of the business and the business side of the technology, we don't often step back and consider aesthetics. A stream is only as successful as its appearance, whether it’s a healthy bitrate, crystal-clear resolution, or polished graphics.
Making a stream look good from a technical standpoint requires expensive equipment and services, but making it look good artistically is nearly free. However, it does require planning and some creative skills. For this article, we’re going to concentrate on two often-overlooked portions of a live stream: the beginning and the ending.

Other key announcements include UltraStudio 4K Extreme with Thunderbolt 3 support and HDR playback over HDMI

April, 19 2016

streamingmedia.comArticle

How to Use Non-PTZ Cameras for Remote-Controlled Live Production

In this article we'll take a look at some non-traditional robotic camera systems and explain how you can use them to get greater freedom of movement and imaging choice in your live-streamed productions.

May, 1 2017

streamingmedia.comArticle

How to Score, Enhance, and Caption Your Videos with YouTube Creator Studio

When discussing the current state of UHD/4K, "current" is a fast-moving target in mid-2016. This article will introduce you to what you need to know to get into 4K for live production and online video, from codecs to cameras.

June, 20 2017

postmagazine.comArticle

Review: Boxx's Apexx 4 Workstation

The past 12 to 24 months of computer development have inserted more uncertainty about which operating system and editing platform to choose than I can recall since around 2008 to 2010. At that time, Final Cut Pro was dominating the market, pulling more editors back to the Macintosh fold. Avid was just beginning to feel the pinch. Shortly after that, Avid had another headache to deal with from Adobe when the Creative Suite video products left the laughing stock. Through all of this, many editors came to be at home with Apple’s Mac OS since all of their preferred editing applications could run on a single platform. Fast forward to 2013 and then 2016, and we find Apple giving us a Mac Pro that wasn’t all that professional and a MacBook Pro that was cut from the same cloth. While the computers themselves were still quite capable, they couldn’t match the I/O and performance-demanding post production audience. Say what you want about Microsoft Windows; the PC was still able to dominate the Mac in raw performance.

November, 1 2017

postmagazine.comGeneral Video

Review: Dell Canvas

When it comes to control surfaces and interface devices, post pros generally stick to a few tried-and-true, long-in-the-tooth methods. There’s the keyboard and mouse that’s most common. There are specialized jog-wheel devices akin to old Steinbeck machines. Some editors like Wacom tablets and pen input for precision control. And I can’t possibly end this list without including the religiously fanatical track ball devotees. Any and all of these methods work for different users for different reasons. Sometimes it’s how we first learned, and we don’t want to take the time to re-learn a new method. But like trying a new dish that we “know” we’re not going to like, sometimes it can be surprisingly beneficial to attempt a new way to interact with our software.
This is the scenario I found myself in just recently when asked to review a Dell Canvas 27.

February, 1 2018

streamingmedia.comArticle

Automated Video Creation for Social Media

With the world's appetite for a colossal amount of video content, there's ample reason to be working with an online-only platform, especially for short-form videos designed primarily for social media. I recently acquainted myself with one such platform that delivers on both fronts: Wibbitz.